Hey guys! I know, I'm late with this. Really sorry! I went crazy trying to finish a project for school that I thought was due on the day I get back to school from spring break (which is tomorrow the 17th), but then my friends told me it's not due tomorrow, but Friday! Gah!

Responses:

Banana: LOL. I like your name. E would love it, since her alter ego is a banana. Your whole school failed the essay? O.O Wow… Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

ZeNfindr: No, it's not love that cancels out the curse. I'm not much of a fan of that thing, but I think it was perfect for Spirited Away /grins/And I have something else in mind for Haku.Anyways, thanks for reviewing!

lvalways123: Thank you so much /grins/And thank you for reviewing!

Ok, I know all of you are probably gonna start yelling at me, saying WHERE'S THE FLUFF! Well, don't worry, THERE SHALL BE FLUFF! …just not when Sakana and Akane are around, as you will see in this chapter.

Disclaimer: …wait. I said I wasn't gonna do a disclaimer anymore. Yay /goes back to eating mashed potatoes and spaghetti/ Mmm…mashed potatoes and spaghetti… (Not mixed together of course!)

Chapter 7

"Sakana, be quiet!" Chihiro hissed at he friend.

"Sorry! This place gives me the creeps!" Sakana whispered.

Chihiro sighed and continued creeping forward. Akane trailed right behind Sakana, making sure that no one was following them through the tunnel.

"Wow. I can't believe that little door back there led to this huge tunnel!" Akane awed softly.

Chihiro smiled. She had been just as mystified when Lin had brought her through here only five years ago. Back then, Lin had been leading her to Yubaba's office so she could get a job and try to save her parents. One thing was similar between then and now, however: Both times, she had no idea what awaited her at the end of this workshop of gears.

At last Chihiro found the familiar doors that led to the elevator. Quietly she rushed over and pressed the button to call the carrier down. As she waited, she watched her friends explore the machinery. Sakana reached out her hand to touch a spinning yellow gear, saying that it reminded her of a banana. Akane quickly grabbed her arm.

"Are you nuts?" She scolded. "Do you want to lose your arm?"

Sakana stared incredulously at the gear. Her expression soon turned to fear and she backed away 20 feet from the spinning part.

"Evil Banana!" Sakana shrieked. Her cry shook the walls slightly, and Chihiro froze. All were silent, and the only sound was that of the moving gears. Chihiro could faintly hear the sound of the boiler and of movement upstairs. The girls remained frozen on the spot, frightened.

A rumbling sound echoed down the walls and the doors opened to reveal the elevator next to Chihiro. She silently motioned for them to get on. They all rushed to board. The doors shut, and soon they were on their way up.

"I'm sorry," Sakana whispered.

"It's all right," Chihiro smiled in reassurance. "I don't think anyone heard us."

The rest of the ride was relatively quiet. Sakana and Akane gazed through the cracks in the walls at the busy workplace of the baths. On one floor Chihiro spotted the big tub, reserved for the more dirty guests. Chihiro remembered when Lin and she had cleaned the inside of the tub. The sludge had been so caked on; they had to use an herbal soap. Before they were able to finish cleaning it, a "Stink" spirit had arrived and wanted to use the tub. Later, they figured out that the "Stink" spirit was actually a powerful river spirit who had collected pollutants from the rivers. Chihiro had received a medicine ball as a reward for helping him.

Chihiro pulled the lever on the wall and the elevator stopped on the next floor. She hoped it was the right one, hopefully leading to the workers' floor.

"You sure this is the right floor?" Akane asked as they stepped off the elevator.

Chihiro stopped and stared. The halls weren't filled with their usual bright warmth of lights and cheery voices of the female workers. Instead, most of the lighting was off, replaced by flaming torches similar to the ones they had seen outside. The pungent smell of the dark violet flame assaulted their noises, and each girl quickly covered their noses.

The elevator doors closed behind them. Now they were stuck on that floor, the ominous feeling of doom growing stronger.

"Are you sure we got off on the right floor?" Sakana asked.

"I-I think so," Chihiro gulped. She scanned the area for any familiar object to tell her she had not been wrong. She hoped so that she had not gone to the top floor. The top floor had once been Yubaba's office. Now, most likely, it was the place of the Chimimouryou's reign.

"Lin! Hurry and get that bath token, damnit! You're wasting valuable money and tips!" A male voice ordered.

"Yes, sir," a familiar female voice answered, sarcasm evident in her voice. A silhouette of a person appeared around the far corner of the hallway. All three girls froze, apprehensive.

A woman rounded the corner, a scowl on her face. Her long, pale brown hair shook violently behind her. The rest of her body shook, if not, even more so in rage.

Chihiro gaped. Could it be…?

"Lin?"

The woman stopped abruptly in her path and gazed up at the three girls.

"S-sen?" The woman answered uncertainly.

"Lin!" Chihiro repeated and rushed over, embracing her long-lost friend in a tight hug.

"Sen! I can't believe it. It's really you!" Lin was almost in tears as both shared an emotional reunion. The two parted, and Chihiro saw Lin's face clearly for the first time in years. Dark bags of fatigue shown clearly under her dull, lifeless eyes. Chihiro gasped and backed away.

"Sen? What's wrong?" Lin asked.

"What happened to you?" Chihiro asked with a slight shake in her voice.

Lin looked away from her friend, ashamed.

"Please tell me. Haku brought me here. There must be something I can do," Chihiro added.

Lin gazed back up at her friend, a look of surprise and worry on her face. "Haku brought you here?"

"Yeah, Kamaji already gave me the speech: 'It's too dangerous! Why did Haku bring you here?'" Chihiro scoffed. "Even if circumstances were different, it's like you guys don't want to see me again…"

"No, it's not that, Se-"

"Then what?" Chihiro's eyes began to tear, but she fought them back. "I want to help you guys because you helped me five years ago. You risked your lives for me, so now I wanna pay you back."

"But Sen, this time it's different. This isn't just a matter of escape or get turned into a pig; this time lives are at stake-"Lin stopped in mid-sentence and peered over Chihiro's shoulder at the other two girls. "Who are they?"

"Hi! "I'm Akane," Akane introduced herself.

"And I'm Sakana!" Sakana added in.

"We're Chi-, I mean Sen's friends. Thanks for introducing us, Sen!" Akane added sarcastically.

Chihiro laughed sheepishly. "Sorry."

Lin continued to stare worryingly at the girls. "It's not safe for Sen, let alone you two. You have no idea what's going to-"

"Lin, I know, but I couldn't shake them. Haku thought it would be alright," Chihiro said.

Lin scoffed.

"Listen, can we just get out of here? This place gives me the creeps," Akane suggested.

"And I'm hungry!" Sakana whined.

Lin scanned the hall then leaned over so she could whisper. "Ok. You guys can stay in that room," she pointed to a nearby door, "until I get back. Don't go off anywhere."

"We won't," the girls said in unison. Lin nodded and walked off.

Chihiro slowly opened the door of their designated room and the girls crept inside. Chihiro noticed it was the same room she had stayed in last time with the other female workers. It looked unchanged, save for the ratty clothes and blankets.

"It's dark in here," Sakana stated.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Chihiro rolled her eyes. Sakana glared at her through the darkness. "Can anyone find a lamp or something in here?"

A loud crash resonated throughout the room. Akane and Chihiro flinched. Sakana cursed under her breath.

"I think I found one," Sakana muttered. Chihiro laughed and took the lamp from her, lighting it.

The room was empty. Chihiro expected others to be in here, sleeping for the night. Instead only a few blankets were laid down. Small envy filled her. She wished she had had this much elbow room when she stayed her before.

"Wow…this place is empty," Akane said.

"Where is everyone?" Chihiro asked, not really expecting an answer.

Small footsteps echoed outside in the hall. All movement ceased as the girl listened intently, waiting for the stranger to pass. A shadow stopped in front of their door. Chihiro's eyes dilated to inhuman proportions. The tension in the room felt so thick, she felt it harder to breath with each passing moment.

The door opened at a slight fraction. What looked like a human hand snuck its way around the corner, and then it continued opening the door ever-so-slowly.

Chihiro held the lantern in front of her to see the stranger's face. Who she saw made her gasp.

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A/N: Should I end it here? LOL It would be evil of me, wouldn't it?

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"Haku!" Chihiro squealed and tackled the boy to the ground, throwing the lamp aside.. They fell with a muffled thump onto the blankets, Chihiro clinging onto Haku's waist like a lost puppy.

"Hi…Chihiro…" Haku stuttered. Though he was nearly being suffocated to death, he was still smiling and laughing.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Sakana put in.

Chihiro and Haku stopped squirming and blushed. Chihiro quickly jumped off of Haku, muttering "sorry". Haku merely stood and brushed himself off, his head bent low to hide his blush.

"Sakana!" Akane scolded and knocked her friend upside the head.

"Ow!" Sakana yelped. "What? I was just giving helpful advice!"

Akane shook her head disapprovingly. "Anyways, I noticed something."

"What?" Chihiro asked, thankful for the subject change.

"Why does Haku call you "Chihiro" and everyone else call you "Sen?"

"Oh, that's because I've known Haku for longer," Chihiro explained matter-of-factly. "He was the spirit of a river that used to run by my old house and I used to fall in it a lot, but I would never drown."

"And he always saved you, I suppose?" Akane asked.

"Yep!" Chihiro grinned.

"I've never heard of a river named "Haku"," Sakana said. "But I have heard of a river called the Kohaku River."

"Yes, that is my real name. But because of Yubaba, I've been called 'Haku' for so long, and it just stuck," Haku smiled. "You can call me Kohaku if you want, but I would prefer Haku because of certain…circumstances."

"Ok, Little Haku!" Sakana chirped.

"Little Haku?" Chihiro and Akane asked in unison, raising a confused eyebrow at their friend.

"Isn't that what your name means? Little Haku?" Sakana asked Haku.

"Yes, if you break it down in syllables," Haku answered. "But as one word it means 'amber'."

"Oh…okay!" Sakana grinned.

Haku's expression turned solemn. "I checked around and so far no one knows you are here, but some people do smell something in the air. It's probably you two," Haku pointed at Akane and Sakana, "You guys haven't eaten any food from this world, have you?"

"No, Chihiro told us not to eat any from those shops," Akane explained.

"Well, the food in those shops is for the spirits; and from past experience, it was smart of her to stop you," Haku laughed slightly. "Anyways, here. I brought you some food to eat. Eat it now so your human smell will go away."

"Wait, how come they didn't start disappearing like I did before?" Chihiro asked as she and the girls took their snacks.

Haku thought for a moment before answering her. "The spells on this world must have changed since then. The Chimimouryou have done all they can to change this place."

"Why are they doing th-…!"

Haku silenced her with his hand. "Someone's coming."

"Who?" Akane whispered. Akane and Sakana sat close to him, fearful of what might be coming.

"Shh," Haku shushed them, not bothering to give an answer. "Stay here." He stood and crept to the door, leaning against the wall and keeping his ear against it.

Once again a shadowy figure appeared at the door. Slowly, the person opened the door, just as Haku had done. Without the lantern, Chihiro couldn't see the person's face very well.

"Sen, are you still here?" Lin opened the door fully. When she saw the three girls huddle together on the floor, frightened, she sighed in relief.

"Kami, Lin, we thought you were some demon!" Chihiro cried.

Lin chuckled. "Sorry."

Chihiro put one hand over her heart, willing it to find its natural rhythm. She was about to point out Haku, but she noticed he had disappeared.

"Here, I brought you guys some food. I thought you might be hungry." Lin unveiled a basket of goodies from her robe and handed them out to the girls.

"Thanks, but Hak-Ow!" Sakana cried. "What'd you do that for?"

"Sorry, my hand slipped," Chihiro answered, giving her friend a look to tell her to keep quiet about their mystery visit.

"Well, you didn't have to hit me so hard," Sakana pouted, rubbing her side.

Lin laughed. "Well, you guys better eat up. People might notice you because you smell like humans. Eat this and your smell will go away," Lin repeated the same advice Haku had given. Still, all three girls nodded and ate their food happily.

"I'm so…tired," Akane yawned.

A light snore came from the corner of the room. Sakana had already fallen fast asleep clinging to a pink blanket.

"I guess we had better get some sleep," Chihiro said.

"You guys can sleep in here if you'd like. I'm the only one in here," Lin offered. She walked over to the closet and pulled out two other blankets and gave them to each of the girls.

"The only one?" Chihiro asked.

"Yeah," Lin answered, albeit hesitantly. "Anyways, good night, guys." Lin said and blew out the lantern.

"G'night." Came the two replies before all was silent in the room.

A/N: Well, this chapter wasn't as long as the last one…oh well. Hope you guys like it! Please review! This chapter was just a filler chapter, so I'm sorry if it sucks. And from here, I have no idea what's gonna happen, so if I don't update in a while, that's why. Any ideas are welcome! (Besides the fluff. I already have some things in mind. And BTW, I'm not doing lemons in any of my stories, so deal with it.)

BTW…this story has gotten over 6000 hits! I'm so proud! But what worries me is that I only have a little over 100 reviews…/sniff/…